Jaben Houk, LMHCA

A Note from Jaben:

Welcome to Twin Lakes Counseling!I'm so glad you are here.

My favorite quote is, "We often get stuck by accident but get healthy intentionally."

My hope is to be a coach helping you process what has got you stuck and more importantly finding steps you are able and willing to take that will lead you more toward the life you desire.

Through my own journey, I have found there is real hope and real joy as we face hard things. I like to view life like a mosaic that includes dark and light pieces of broken glass. Through skillful placement and perspective often the hardest things in life also can be seen in a new light and incorporated into the beauty that is our unique story. It is my pleasure to help others take bold steps toward seeing the life they have been given in a new light.

I specialize in working with individuals struggling to adjust to life’s demands and overcoming addictive behaviors (including compulsions, anxiety-related behaviors, and the effects of sex addiction.) I enjoy working with individuals and families for whom emotional wounds and lack of emotional support is one of the driving factors. I also enjoy working with clients who have a desire to integrate their Christian faith into therapy.

Jaben Houk, MA, LMHCA, MHP

MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR

Jaben received his masters of counseling degree from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is an NBCC certified counselor, a Mental Health Professional with a Child Mental Health Specialty, a Gottman Method Level 1 Couples Therapist, and an SYMBIS marriage training facilitator. Before coming to TLC, he worked for several years with a variety of ages and backgrounds in the community mental health system in Tacoma. His counseling approach includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If you work with Jaben he will focus on identifying stuck points, focusing on emotional issues and encouraging clients to take value-directed, action-oriented steps toward achieving their goals.

Before receiving an MA in Counseling from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, Jaben received a BA in Biblical Studies from Southwest Baptist University and an MA in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. As someone who worked in vocational Christian ministry for 8 years with college and youth, he is especially passionate about supporting Christian leaders as they seek to work through the burdens inherent to their leadership roles and avoid burnout and moral failure. As a past ministry leader who has walked through his own ‘dark night of the soul’, he loves to work with those in leadership roles who would benefit from having a confidential place to wrestle with their own struggles in a non-judgmental context. Too often Christian leaders struggle (as we all do) and don’t have a place to dialog about these things with someone outside of their circle of influence.

Jaben has a specific passion to explore with clients from a faith background how their spiritual beliefs can be a support for their own recovery and growth. While he respects the wishes of clients who do not want to integrate their spiritual beliefs into counseling, he loves to tap into these strengths when the client feels it is appropriate.